Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 3, Number 33, August 13, 2000:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2000, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
SUBSCRIBER UPDATES
We have six new subscribers this week: Michael Billings,
Stephen Crain, Gordon Frost, Steve Hayden, Ian Marshall,
and John Schroeder. Welcome aboard! This brings our
subscriber count to 333.
NBS TURNS TWENTY!
The event nearly went unnoticed, but NBS Historian Joel
Orosz pointed out at our general meeting that the Numismatic
Bibliomania Society is twenty years old this month - we were
founded officially on August 18, 1980, at a meeting in the
Bamboo Room of Stouffer's Cincinnati Towers during the
ANA Convention that year. Happy birthday!
ANA MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
[Editor's note: it was a pleasure and a delight to see so many
E-Sylum subscribers in person at the NBS meetings and
throughout the convention this year. It's always nice to be
able to put faces to names, and I was meeting many of you
for the first time. I hope you all enjoyed the NBS events at
the show, and the NBS officers and I will look forward to
seeing many of you again next year.]
About 70 people attended the NBS general meeting on
August 11th. The meeting was called to order by President
Wayne Homren. After the attendees introduced themselves,
Vice President Tom Sheehan presented the following awards:
BEST ASYLUM ARTICLE OF 1999: The winner was
Joel Orosz, for "Ad Hominem Ad Nauseam: The "Great
Debate" Between Michael Hodder & Theodore Buttrey",
published in the No. 3 issue. Balloting was neck-and-neck
this year - the runner up by a single vote was "The
Numismatist: The First Six Volumes: Where Are They
Now?" by David J. Sklow, also in the No. 3 issue.
Congratulations and thanks to our winner and all our
Asylum authors.
JACK COLLINS AWARD: The Jack Collins Award for
Overall Contribution to Numismatic Literature, established
in 1998, is given on an occasional basis to an individual
deemed to have made an important, lasting contribution to
the body of numismatic literature. This year the award was
given to William Malkmus, for his long-running efforts to index
our journal, The Asylum. Congratulations, and thanks again
for a job well done.
An informal auction was held to raise funds for our Society's
treasury. About $1,000 was raised from donations by John
W. Adams, George Frederick Kolbe, Tom Sheehan, Bill
Swoger, Wayne Homren, Eric Newman, and Myron Xenos.
Many thanks to all our donors and bidders, as well as to Brad
Karoleff, who volunteered his auctioneering talents to call the
sale in professional fashion. (More details on lots and prices
realized next week).
NBS SPEAKERS AT THE ANA CONVENTION
Many thanks also to the speakers who made presentations
this year:
At the general meeting W. David Perkins spoke on "The
Ostheimers of Philadelphia and their Extraordinary Collection
of Silver Dollars".
At the Numismatic Literature Symposium later that afternoon,
NBS Board member Pete Smith spoke on books published
about the Philadelphia, and Eric Newman spoke about Beale
Bordley, one of the earliest authors on a numismatic topic in
the United States.
It's not too soon to start planning for next year. If you'd like
to talk at an NBS event in Atlanta next year, or have any
suggestions for a topic or speaker, please let me know via
email at this address: whomren@coinlibrary.com.
LITERATURE EXHIBIT WINNERS
Also awarded at the ANA convention was The Aaron Feldman
Memorial Exhibit Award, established in 1991 by NBS with a
$3,000 endowment. The award is given by the American
Numismatic Association to the best exhibit of numismatic
literature at their annual convention. The award is named in
honor of literature dealer Aaron Feldman, who has been
credited with "coining" the phrase, "Buy the book before the
coin."
This years' winners had not yet been made public when your
Editor left the convention - if you know the results, please
let me know for publication in next week's E-Sylum. One
planned exhibit failed to appear. The remaining exhibits were:
"Building a Set of The Numismatist" - this exhibit
displayed the rare first six volumes, from the Paul
Fouts set.
"Auction Catalogs That Led Me to Collect Numismatic
Literature" - this exhibit displayed several interesting
U.S. auction catalogs, starting with the 1867 Mickley
sale by W. Elliot Woodward.
There was also a nice exhibit by Pete Smith in the Local
Interest category: "An Illustrated History of the Four
Mints at Philadelphia" - this exhibit highlighted literature
and ephemera about the different mint buildings in
Philadelphia over the years.
Several other exhibits in various categories included
numismatic literature or ephemera. The overall quality of
the exhibits this year was excellent - an inspiration to
researchers and collectors alike.
CORRECTION: ASYLUM ISSUES WANTED
Ronald S. Thompson writes: "I really enjoy the E-Sylum. I look
forward to reading it each Monday. However, I am quite
surprised at the continuing quality and interesting items that pop
up each week. It is as if I read it each week expecting the
quality to drop off - but it doesn't!! Now for my minor
correction:
Between my request to Dave Hirt and the E-Sylum notice
there was something lost in the transmission. I am looking
for Volume II (not Volume I) No. 3 & 4 of the Asylum. I am
willing to buy or trade for them. I have an extra Volume I No.
1 as well as some other issues. I can be reached at P.O. Box
1332, Summit, NJ 07901 or at
Thompson@Grantadm.Rutgers.Edu."
[Editor's note: Dave Hirt got it right - on rereading his note
I see that I'm the one who transposed the request. Sorry!]
WHAT BOOKS ARE FOR
While the various remarks on the western gold bars
controversy have made for very interesting reading,
readers of The E-Sylum are encouraged to review the
literature for themselves. Take the remarks of both sides
in context, and decide for yourselves. Mr. Adams'
reading suggestions in The E-Sylum Vol 3, No 31 are
a good starting point. To that your editor would add
the forthcoming book by Dan Owens and other references
cited in both Michael Hodder's and Prof. Buttrey's
articles (some of which are mentioned in The E-Sylum
Vol 3, No. 29).
SUBSCRIBER PROFILE: MIKE BILLINGS
New subscriber Mike Billings provided us with the following
background information: "In the way of numismatics I consider
myself a generalist. I like and deal in everything. I do however
have a fondness for U.S. quarter dollars. I am also very
interested in the area of Mexican Numismatics. I am now
focusing on the rare keys of the 20th century. But I am in no
way limited to any specific field. I know a lot of folks
concentrate on a specific area. Well, I do this for a while and
move on to other series, as I believe this gives me a broader
numismatic base.
As far as literature is concerned, I am currently assembling an
Eliasberg catalogue set although I like to collect any catalogues
of important numismatists or dealers of the past. I like Mehl
although I don't own any of his catalogues yet.
I also frequent old book stores looking for out of print references.
I found some nice books just this past week as well as a large
series of Numismatists (incomplete) from as early as 1901-1948.
I bought approximately 100 issues. I like any reference of
significance in the area of U.S. or Mexican numismatics and
related history. I also like to read Dave Bowers.
I'm glad to be on board and look forward to an exciting future
in our hobby."
MAKING COINS AT THE SAN FRANCISCO MINT
Dave Hirt brought with him to the convention a very rare
pamphlet titled "Something About Coins" by E. I. Barra,
San Francisco, 1863. (See The E-Sylum: Volume 2,
Number 19: May 9, 1999). The pamphlet includes this
account of operations at the United States Branch Mint,
San Francisco (p16-17), and coincidentally, it discusses
the making of gold bars from bullion:
"Persons desirous of visiting the Mint can do so any day it is
in operation, between the hours of 9 and 12 o'clock in the
forenoon. On making application at the door the visitor is
referred to the conductor, whose sole office it is to receive
and conduct those who wish to examine the Mint. The visitor
is requested to sign his name in a register kept for that purpose,
and then is shown - first, into the weighing-room; here all the
gold and silver is received, weighed, and a receipt given to the
depositor. Melting-room - In this room the gold is melted and
run into bars, when it is taken into the chipping-room, where a
chip is taken from each bar for the purpose of assaying and
estimating its fineness; it is again melted, and two parts of silver
to one part of gold added; after it is thus mixed the liquid metal
is poured into water, which causes it to granulate. The
granulation is put into porcelain pots, and the refining is done
by the use of nitric acid, which has no effect upon gold, while it
holds base metals and silver in solution, and the gold settles to
the bottom. It is then thoroughly washed with water to free it
from acid, and placed in a hydraulic-press, where it is pressed
into cakes resembling cheese - it is again melted, and again
assayed, and sufficient copper mixed with it to bring it to the
American standard of 900 fine. It is then cast into ingots, and
rolled from ingots into bars, which are drawn into flat uniform
strips; from these strips are cut the planchets, which, although
cut as near uniform as possible, are not sufficiently so to obviate
the necessity of their being sent into the adjusting-room - here
each piece is weighed, and, if too heavy, it is filed down to the
standard, and, if too light, it is sent into the melting-room. The
adjusting is done by women. After the planchets are adjusted
they are again sent into the annealing-room, and there prepared
for coining by being placed in copper boxes and put into the
furnace and brought to a red heat; they are then sent into the
coining-room and passed through the coining press, where
each piece receives the impressions on both sides at the same
time, and thereby becomes the coin of the United States of
America, which we all so much admire, and are so anxious
to be possessed of.
Money is proverbially called the root of all evil; with how
much correctness the writer will not attempt to question;
but will ask if it is the root of all evil, is it not the medium of
great amount of good? Money is the medium of exchange,
and without it the baker will not part with his bread, nor
the farmer with his wheat, and so on through all the
ramifications of trade, without its equivalent in some form no
man will part with his property, and the most compact,
convenient, and convertible form is money; consequently as
society is organized money is necessary to our existence. The
writer was shown through the Mint by the gentlemanly
conductor, who imparted all the information the nature of his
business would permit him to do, as there were other visitors
constantly arriving who had a claim upon his attention. - The
writer met a gentleman in the Mint who was once attached to
the Mint at New Orleans, at which time the writer had the
pleasure of forming his acquaintance. From him much of the
information of the practical operations of the Mint was obtained,
and the obligation is herein gratefully acknowledged."
FEATURED WEB SITE
This week's featured web page is the ANA's "Circle of
Friends" project. The page allows visitors to hear audio
recordings of interviews with numismatic personalities.
http://www.money.org/library/friends.html
The currently available interviews are:
Chet Krause (1 hour, recorded November 19, 1998)
Ed Rochette (40 minutes, recorded November 30, 1998)
Marcella Sheldon (25 minutes, August 14, 1999)
Wayne Homren
Numismatic Bibliomania Society
The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a
non-profit organization promoting numismatic
literature. For more information please see
our web site at http://www.coinbooks.org/
There is a membership application available on
the web site. To join, print the application and
return it with your check to the address printed
on the application. For those without web access,
contact Dave Hirt, NBS Secretary-Treasurer,
5911 Quinn Orchard Road, Frederick, MD 21704
(To be removed from this mailing list
write to me at whomren@coinlibrary.com)